Congratulations to a job well done to the 2024 Miss Black Mississippi USA Pageant. September 1 - 4, 2023 is a weekend to remember in Hattiesburg, Mississippi as 12 young women entered the Hub-city to vie for their esteemed titles. The weekend began with a Press Conference organized by House of Representative Zakiya Summers and other Elected Officials. The ladies stood in solidarity for the fight against Hair Discrimination with the CROWN (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural hair) Act. Ambassador of the CROWN Act, Faith Fennidy spoke at this occasion, informing Local and State Government to ensure that this Act is passed in the Mississippi Legislature. During the 2023 Legislative session, the CROWN Act did not pass. It is the hope that this upcoming Legislative session, the CROWN Act is on the books to be passed. During this occasion, Ms Black Mississippi USA Torri Alexander spoke to the attendees in support of this platform as a black woman and mother who has a daughter that also have natural hair.
Saturday, September 2, 2023, the ladies appeared to Hattiesburg for their Orientation session where they met and heard Miss Fennidy speak about her experience with hair discrimination as a youth. Faith's story empowered our ladies to understand that at any age, you can create change in the community that you see. To date, Faith has help pass the CROWN Act in over 17 states including California, New York and Maryland. The ladies had an opportunity to ask Faith questions and gain insight on how to be a change agent in their communities. The afternoon, the ladies practiced with the State Pageant Choreographer and owner of Xfinity Dance Studio, Mr. Erret James. Mr. James have been working with the pageant organization as the choreographer for the past two productions, providing a Broadway styled production in Mississippi. He includes his dancers from his studio into our performance, making it a complete package. The ladies received additional guidance from pageant veterans Ms Katelynn Brown and Alexandria Van Dyke during the rehearsal, giving professional critiques that will help each Queen be her very best. The evening concluded with a Evening Activity- Meet and Greet the 2024 Miss Black Mississippi USA Contestants Welcome Mixer. Local businesses including Specialty Boutiques, Hair Companies and Candle businesses were present at this occasion. The ladies enjoyed meeting, greeting and dancing to the tunes by our Dj, DJ Lil Walt. The Miss Black Mississippi USA organization thank all of the vendors who participated in this occasion including our sponsors, Ear Junkie by Andrea and Centric8 Designs.
September 3, 2023, officially began the competition for the 2024 pageant with Personal Panel Interview. Each of our contestants had an opportunity to be interviewed before the panel of our esteemed judges. According to the judges, they were impressed with the intelligence, class and excellence of each contestant. That afternoon, the Queens had the opportunity to complete a technical rehearsal with their host, Comedian DT Owens. The evening concluded with a private pajama party with the reigning 2023 Miss Black Mississippi USA Queens Court.
September 4, 2023, was a night we all waited for, the official on-stage competition for the 2024 Miss Black Mississippi USA Pageant. The lights are on and our Queens were ready! The newly crowned court are shown below.
2024 Miss Black Mississippi USA Talented Teen (center)
Samantha Morrow
1st Runner Up (right)
Shamiya Drummond
2nd Runner Up (left)
Dorothy Gray
2024 Miss Black Mississippi USA (center)
Kyra Maurice
1st Runner Up (right)
Annaka Shumpert
2nd Runner Up (left)
Kevia Miles
2024 Ms Black Mississippi USA (center)
Shinita Payton
1st Runner Up (1st Left from Center)
Emmalee Winston Herring
2nd Runner Up (Left)
Paris Smith
3rd Runner Up (1st Right from Center)
Alexis Williams
4th Runner Up (Right)
Jasmine Johnson
Additional Awards
Miss Congeniality, Ms Paris Smith
Most Advertisements, Ms Shinita Payton
Entreprenurial Award (Most Tickets Sold) Ms Shinita Payton
Community Service Award Ms Jasmine Johnson
Viewer's Choice Ms Shinita Payton
We are gracious to have every young woman who competed in this pageant. We would like to thank them and their families for coming and supporting them on September 4, 2023. Congratulations to our newly crowned Queens as they prepare for the National competition, August 2024 in Washington DC to compete for the coveted National crowns. As we now embark on a new journey for our incoming Queens, we would also like to invite you to prepare for the 2025 competition season with our Local Preliminary Competitions. Visit our information page below to get started.
**Photography by Wharf Media, Chelsea Jones
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